BIODIVERSITY OF FISHES IN INDIA

Ma-rine58%

Freshwater41%

Migrant1%

Species Distribution

• World harbours total of 24,618 species - 4258 genera - 482 families.

• About 58% marine 41% are freshwater and 1% migrants.

• In India- 2,500 fish species (930 freshwater 1570 marine)

• In other words, India harbours 11.5% of the fish fauna so far known in the world.

World india

Oceanic Divisions

Epipelagic - (MSL) to 200 m

Mesopelagic- 200 m to 1,000 m

Bathypelagic- 1,000 m to 4,000 m

Abyssopelagic - 4,000 m to the ocean floor

Hadopelagic - below 6,000 m whether in a trench or not.

Profile of Indian Marine Fisheries

• Physical component-– Length of coastline 8129 km – Exclusive economic zone 2.02 m km2 – Continental shelf 0.50 million km2 – Fishing villages 3202

• Human Component – Marine fishers population 3.5 million – Active fishers population 0.9 million [20% in mech., 20%

moto., 60% in arti.]; 30% posses ownership of fishing vessels

Biodiversity v/s what we exploit –Groups Diversity of species Commercially exploited

Finfishes 1300 species* 263

crustacean 2900 species*

marine mollusks 3370 species

Sea weeds 844 species

Corals 262 species -

sea grasses 14 species -

mangroves 69 species -

sponges 451 species -

sea snakes 26 species -

sea turtles 5 species -

marine mammals 30 species -

Major Pelagic FisheriesFamily Group/ Species Species number

Clupeidae

Oil sardine 1

Lesser sardine 14

Hilsa spp. And other shads 15

Whitebaits 24

Thryssa and Thrissocles spp 10

Wolf herring 2

Other clupeids 40

Scombridae

Coastal tunas 5

Oceanic tunas 3

Seerfishes and wahoo 5

Mackerels 3

Trichiuridae Ribbonfishes 8

Harpodontidae Bombay-duck 2

Family Group/ Species Species number

Carangidae

Scads 12

Jacks 4

Black pomfret 1

Travallies 25

Runners 1

Pilot fishes 1

Leather jackets 4

Pompanos and darts 6

Stromateidae Pomfrets 2

Coryphaenidae Dolphin fishes 2

Rachycentridae Cobia 1

Mugilidae Mullets 22

Sphyraenidae Barracudas 7

Exocoetidae Flying fishes 10

Bregmacerotidae Unicorn cod 1

Total pelagics 250

Species composition of some major pelagic species-

• Oil Sardine - The Indian oil sardine, Sardinella longiceps . Single species.

• Lesser Sardines - Of the 15 species of lesser sardines in the Indo-Pacific region, 12 species occur in the Indian waters. Some are S. gibbosa, S. fimbriata (Fringe-scale sardine), S. albello (Short-bodied sardine)

• Anchovies - important species are Coilia dussumieri, Stolephorus spp, Thryssa spp., Thryssinna spp. and Setipinna spp. Some of the important species of Anchovies are : Peruvian anchovy- Engraulis ringens , Japanese anchovy - Engraulis japonicus , Golden anchovy- Coilia dussumeiri , Devis' anchovy -Encrasicholina devisi 

• White Baits- Ten species of white baits occur in our seas. Dominant species available throughout the coast are E. devisi, S. bataviensis. E. punctifel; S. commersonii. S. indicus and S. baganensis.

• Mackerel- The bulk by Rastrelliger kanagurta (Indian mackerel). In addition R. brachysoma (Short mackerel) and R. faughni (Island mackerel) also contribute.

• Tuna- mainly dominated by Euthynnus affinis (about 50%), followed by, Auxis thazard (16%), 5 costal ; 3 oceanic species

• Seerfishes- The fishery is sustained by four species such as the king seer , the spotted seer , the streaked seer and wahoo .

• Ribbonfish /  Hairtail - comprised of Trichiurus lepturus (Grey ribbonfish), T. russelli (Short tailed hair tail), T. gangeticus (Ganges hairtail), Lepturacanthus savala (Silver ribbonfish)

Species composition of some major mesopelagic species-

• Carangid - Carangid fishes in India is represented mainly by 36 species (21 genera) such as Alectis indicus (Indian thread-fin trevally), Alepes djedaba (Djedaba trevally), Atropus atropus (Kuwest trevally), Atule mate (One-fin let scad), Coryphaena hippurus (Dolphinfish), Carangoides armatus (Longfin trevally), C. malabaricus (Malabar trevally), Decapterus russellii (Round-scad), Megalaspis cordyla (Horse mackerel), Parastromateus niger (Black pomfret), Rachycentron canadus (Black kingfish), Trachinotus blochii (Sub-nose pompano) and T. botla (Russel's pompano).

• Bombay-Duck- The Bombay-Duck, Harpadon nehereus belongs to the family, Harpadontidae. Major contributing species is Harpadon nehereus. Another species is H. Squamosus which also contributes to the Bombay-Duck fishery.

Species composition of some major demersal species-

Group Species DiversitySilverbelly 21 speciesSciaenids 30 speciesGoatfishes 16 speciesPerches 20 families groupers 17 species

snappers 14 species emperors 9 species thread fin breams 6 species

Flatfishes 25 speciesElasmobranch 110 species

Species composition of some major demersal species-

• Elasmobranch In India, there are about 110 species of elasmobranch which includes 66 species of sharks

• SharksThe dominant species of sharks are Chiloscyllium indicum (Slender bamboo shark), C. griseum (Grey bamboo shark), Rhincodon typus (Whale shark), Carcharhinus brevipinna (Spinner shark), Galeocerdo cuvieri (Tiger shark), Rhizoprionodon acutus (Milk shark), Scoliodon laticaudus (Spade-nose shark), Sphyrna mokarran (Great hammer-head) and S. zygaena (Smooth hammer-head). Skates Important species among skates are Rhina ancylostoma (Bow-mouthed angel fish), Rhinobatos granulatus (Granulated shovel-nose ray), Rhynchobatus djiddensis (White spotted shovel-nose ray), Anoxypristis cuspidata (Pointed saw- fish) and Pristis microdon (Small-tooth saw fish). Rays The important species are Aetobatus narinari (Spotted eagle ray),, Himantura uarnak (Honey combed sting ray), H. bleekeri (Whiptail sting ray), Mobula diabolus (Horny ray).

• Silverbelly – (pony fishes / slip mouths) family Leiognathidae – Almost all the 21 species are known from southern Tamil Nadu, but

the dominant species are Leiognathus dussumieri, L. jonesi, L. splendens, and L. equulus.

– In the northern Tamil Nadu and along Andhra Pradesh, about 12 species contribute to the fishery, of which L. bindus. L. splendens and Secular insidiatar are most dominant accounting for nearly 70 - 80% of the silverbelly landings.

– In Kerala, 16 species occur in the landings of which four species (L. splendens, L. brevirostris. S. insidiatol; Gazza minuta) contribute to the bulk of the landings.

• Sciaenids - Commonly known as croakers, grunters, drummers and jewfishes belong to the family, Sciaenidae. About 30 species have been recorded ; Of these 12-17 species form the commercial fishery. Two larger species of sciaenids, Otolithoides biauritu and Protonibea diacanthus . Otolithes cuvieri is the most abundant sciaenid in the Indian waters.

• Lizardfish – (Synodontidae ) Represented by species such as the (greater lizardfish) Saurida tumbil, (brush toothed lizardfish) Trachinocephalus myops and (engleman's lizardfish) Synodus englemani (west coast). Other species Saurida longimanus (longfin lizardfish) and S. micropectoralis (shortfin lizardfish) along the east coast.

• Pomfrets – (Stromateidae and Carangidae ) Primarily composed of three species – Black pomfret (Parastromateus niger), Silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus) and Chinese pomfret (Pampus chinensis).

• Goatfishes –(red mullets) belong to the family, Mullidae. Sixteen species - belonging to three genera. Of these, the eight species of the genus Upeneus contribute to the bulk of the fishery. Upeneus doriae (Gilded goatfish)

• Perches- (Order: Percifonnes) include more than 20 families such as Serranidae , Lutijanidae, Lethrinidae (called major perches), Nemipteridae, Haemulidae, Caesionidae , Priacanthidae , Aunthridae and Siganidae (called minor perches).

Species composition of important perches :In Family Serranidae seventeen species of groupers constitute the fishery in India. Epinephelus tauvina (Greasy grouper). Lutjanidae, fourteen species of snappers. They include Lutjanus johni (John's snapper). L. argentimaculatus (Red snapper)Lethrinidae nine species include Lethrinus nebulosus (Starry emperor bream), L. obsoletus (Yellow banded emperor bream), Nemipteridae (Threadfin breams) six species constitute in India. Major are Neimpterus japonicus, N. mesoprion

• Flatfishes - Flatfishes belong to the families, Bothidae (Flounders), Cynoglossidae (Tongue soles), Psettodidae (Indian halibut) and Soleidae (Soles). Twenty five species under 11 genera contribute to minor or major fisheries along the Indian coast. Most of them are small to medium sized fishes except Psettodes erumei, which attains 60 cm length. Most of them are restricted to shallow waters of less than 60 m depth. However, P. erumei (Indian halibut) and Cynoglossus bilineatus (Malabar tongue sole) occur up to 100 m and 400 m depth respectively.

BIODIVERSITY OF CORALS IN INDIA

• The total coral reef area in India is 5,790 km2, There are 4 major coral reef areas in India.

• There is also scattered coral growth on submerged banks along the east and west coasts of the mainland.

• A total of 262 species of hard corals, 145 species of soft corals and 844 species of reef fish have been recorded from Indian coral reefs, but diversity varies significantly between areas.

• 1] Gulf of Mannar – (117 coral species), with the most common corals being Acropora, Montipora and Porites. with dominant families being the Acroporidae, Faviidae and Poritidae.

• 2] Andaman and Nicobar- (203 coral species) with Porites spp. Being dominant in the northern and southern Andaman Islands, while Acropora spp. dominate the middle Andaman and the Nicobar Islands

• 3] Lakshadweep Islands- (95 coral species) The most common corals found are the genus Acropora and Montipora while the massive species of corals are mainly those of genus Porites and Heliopora Besides, Fungia and Favia are also widespread in many island lagoons.

• 4]Gulf of Kutch- (37 coral species) Montipora, Cosinaria, Hydnophora, Turninaria, Goniastrea, and Porites are some of the common species found in all the islands of Gulf of Kutch. Species such as Siderastrea savignayana and Acanthastrea hillae are reported only from Gulf of Kutch.

Reef fishes in India• In India 774 species are currently present in the country (endemic, native,

introduced, reintroduced). • Reef fisheries in India are not reflected in national fisheries statistics, as

little significance is given to the fishery, however, they are important as a subsistence fishery for local people.

• Organised fishery of reef fishes occurs mainly in Gulf of Mannar. A total 0f 183 species belonging to 51 families were recorded from Gulf of Mannar.

• In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands fishing is mainly carried out around the Andaman Islands, with little around the Nicobar Islands. The main species targeted include sardines, anchovies, carangids, mackerel, mullets, perches, sharks and rays, catfish, pomfrets, silver bellies and catfish. overall composition of the catch included; sardines (12-13%), perches (7-10%), carangids (6%) and mackerel (6-7%).

• In the Lakshadweep Islands there is no organised commercial reef fishery for food or ornamental fishes, but there is a subsistence reef fishery. The local industry targets offshore pelagic fish, such as tuna, which require the harvesting of sprats (Spratelloides sp.) from reef lagoons for bait.

From the graph it is clear that the families Carangidae, Lutjanidae and Serranidae dominated considerably with 19, 18 and 17 species respectively.

References• http://www.reefbase.org/global_database/default.aspx?section=r5• http://www.fishbase.org/Country/CountryChecklist.php?vhabitat=saltwater&c_code=356• Marine Biodiversity of India – Status and Challenges By K. K. Joshi, Varsha M.S. and Sruthy

V.L. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi-682 018• Documenting Coastal Fish Biodiversity of India : Status, Issues and Challenges U. K. Sarkar, J.

K. Jena, S. P. Singh, A. K. Singh and S. C. Rebello National Bureau Fish Genetic Resources• Marine Biodiversity in India: Satus and Issues Alok Saxena Additional Director, Indira Gandhi

National Forest Academy, Dehradun,Uttarakhand, India• Coral reel fishes 0f Gulf of Maunar, S.E _India Molly Varghese, Mary K.Manisseri,

N.Ramamurthy, P.M.Geetha, V.J.Thomas and A.Gandhi Mandapam Regional Centre of CMFRI, Mandapam Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin

• Status ofCoral Reefs in South Asia: Bangladesh, Chagos, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka Jerker Tamelander and Arjan Rajasuriya

• Economic Valuation of Coral Reef Systems in Gulf of Kachchh Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC)

• CORAL REEFS IN INDIA K. Venkataraman National Biodiversity Authority

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